Government announces support for green steelmaking in NSW and SA

The Australian Government has announced support for Australian steelmaking with $200 million in grant funding for energy transformation.

The first round of the Powering the Regions Fund (PRF) will provide funding to BlueScope Steel Limited and Liberty Steel Australia to progress projects at their respective operations in New South Wales and South Australia.

BlueScope has been awarded $136.8 million towards the reline and upgrade of its No. 6 Blast Furnace at the Port Kembla Steelworks. This project will maintain domestic production, reduce emissions and support pathways to producing even lower-emissions steel in the future.

Liberty Steel has also been awarded $63.2 million towards the purchase and commission of a low carbon electric arc furnace (EAF) to replace the existing traditional blast furnace at the Whyalla Steelworks. The new state-of-the-art EAF will support the manufacturing of green steel and help achieve Liberty’s aim of carbon neutrality by 2030.

The grants are the first to be delivered under the PRF through its Critical Inputs to Clean Energy Industries program, which supports hard-to-abate sectors like steel.

The government has also committed $200 million in grant funding for the hard-to-abate cement and lime, and alumina and aluminium sectors, with successful projects to be announced in the coming months.

“This $200 million investment in the steel sector is about securing the long-term future of the steel industry in Australia,” said Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen. “As we undergo the transformation to net zero, it is vital that we support our industries to adopt and manufacture cleaner technologies. Steel is essential for our energy transformation. 90% of the materials that go into making a wind turbine are steel and cement, and we’re going to need a lot more of it.

“Total steel demand for the energy transformation from 2022 to 2050 will be almost 5 billion tonnes, accounting for 75% of the total material requirement — and that steel will increasingly be green steel.”

“Clean, green Aussie-made steel is the way of the future. Our economy needs it and it will sustain and create great jobs in our regions,” said Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic.